Strategy Analytics took some time to crunch some numbers in the tablet space and came up with very encouraging Q4’11 numbers for Android. First of all, Android tablet shipments tripled from 3.1 million units in Q4’10 to 10.5 million in Q’11.

This is, of course, due to many OEMs jumping into the tablet game in 2011 and looking toward Android for their software needs just as most do with phones. The holiday season introduced a great deal of new tablets, including the oft-desired Amazon Kindle Fire.

They also found that Android shipments accounted for 39% of the share in this quarter, up from just over 29% in the same quarter last year. They attribute Android’s growth to cheap, yet highly marketable options such as the Amazon Kindle Fire and the Barnes and Noble Nook Tablet. Apple’s iPad took 57.6% of the share and that was down from 68.2% a year ago.

It’ll be interesting to see if Android’s momentum can sustain and seriously attack iOS as it has been able to do in the phone space. Attractive pricing and a good software ecosystem are just two of the many things that need to be maintained in order for Android to have a chance and it would appear that both facets are doing quite alright.

It’s worthy to note that when referring to Android tablets, the number of items shipped are just that – shipped to retailers. With the iPad, shipped is considered sold. Find the full press release below.

Strategy Analytics: Android Captures Record 39 Percent Share of Global Tablet Shipments in Q4 2011

BOSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–According to the latest research from Strategy Analytics, global tablet shipments reached 27 million units in the fourth quarter of 2011. Android jumped to a record 39 percent global share, while Apple iOS maintained its strong leadership at 58 percent.

Peter King, Director at Strategy Analytics, said, “Global tablet shipments reached an all-time high of 26.8 million units in Q4 2011, surging 150 percent from 10.7 million in Q4 2010. Demand for tablets among consumer, business and education users remains strong. Apple shipped a robust 15.4 million iPads worldwide and maintained its strong market leadership with 58 percent share during the fourth quarter of 2011. Apple shrugged off the much-hyped threat from entry-level Android models this quarter.”

Neil Mawston, Executive Director at Strategy Analytics, added, “Android captured a record 39 percent share of global tablet shipments in Q4 2011, rising from 29 percent a year earlier. Global Android tablet shipments tripled annually to 10.5 million units. Dozens of Android models distributed across multiple countries by numerous brands such as Amazon, Samsung, Asus and others have been driving volumes. Android is so far proving relatively popular with tablet manufacturers despite nagging concerns about fragmentation of Android’s operating system, user-interface and app store ecosystem.”

Other findings from the research include:

• Global tablet shipments hit 66.9 million units in full-year 2011, surging 260 percent from 18.6 million in full-year 2010. Consumers are increasingly buying tablets in preference to netbooks and even entry-level notebooks or desktops;
• Microsoft captured a niche 1 percent global tablet share in Q4 2011. The upcoming release of Windows 8 this year cannot come quickly enough for Microsoft, so its hardware partners can start competing more effectively in the tablet space.

Exhibit 1: Global Tablet Operating System Shipments and Market Share in Q4 2011 ¹

Global Tablet OS Shipments (Millions of Units)					Q4 ’10			Q4 ’11
Apple iOS					7.3			15.4
Android					3.1			10.5
Microsoft					0.0			0.4
Others					0.3			0.5
Total					10.7			26.8
Global Tablet OS Marketshare %					Q4 ’10			Q4 ’11
Apple iOS					68.2%			57.6%
Android					29.0%			39.1%
Microsoft					0.0%			1.5%
Others					2.8%			1.9%
Total					100.0%			100.0%
Growth Year-over-Year %					N / A			150%

The full report, Global Tablet OS Market Share: Q4 2011, is published by the Strategy Analytics Tablet & Touchscreen (TTS) service, details of which can be found here:http://tinyurl.com/78qpf5u.

About Strategy Analytics:

Strategy Analytics is a global, independent research and consulting firm. The company is headquartered in Boston, USA, with offices in the UK, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea and China. Visit www.strategyanalytics.com for more information.

¹ Shipments refer to sell-in. Numbers are rounded. The definition of tablet does not include e-book readers.

View full post on Android Phone Fans